1.   The former chairman of Swindon Town football club has begun his defence against charges of cheating the inland revenue out of thousands of pounds.

2.   A professional psychiatrist will fine tune the Pakistan cricketers as they begin their defence of the World Cup against United Arab Emirates in Gujaranwala Saturday.

3.   France begin the defence of the World Cup in Seoul on Friday with the opening match of the tournament against Group A rivals Senegal.

4.   French captain Marcel Desailly said here on Friday he was itching to begin the defence of the World Cup.

5.   A moment of mental tiredness cost European Tour leader Colin Montgomerie the lead when he began his defence of the Lancome Trophy here on Thursday.

6.   It gave Rangers a winning start to the new campaign as they began the defence of their seventh successive championship.

7.   Olympic champions Oksana Gritchuk and Evgeni Platov of Russia began the defence of their world ice dance title in style here Tuesday, dominating the compulsory routines.

8.   Squash superstar Jansher Khan begins his defence of his World Open title against Australian qualifier Craig Rowland here on Wednesday brimming with confidence.